Robert S. Light extension project adds new highway travel lane

The Texas Department of Transportation was joined by state, county and local officials to celebrate the completion of the RM 967/Robert S. Light Boulevard extension project, according to information provided in a press release by TXDOT.

“Exponential growth in Hays County creates more mobility and safety challenges to the region,” said TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson. “The completion of the extension of Robert S. Light Boulevard helps address these issues by providing a direct connection between FM 1626 and I-35 in order to reduce travel times.”

The RM 967/Robert S. Light Boulevard extension project added a travel lane in each direction from RM 967 to FM 1626.

Additional improvements included overpasses at the Union Pacific Railroad, the Mustang Branch of Onion Creek and the Centex Materials haul road, as well as the addition of turn lanes on RM 967 and FM 2770 to and from the newly constructed roadway.

The $17.7 million project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule, beating its original estimated end date by six months, the press release stated.

“Hays County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. And with that growth, comes more and more pressure on our infrastructure,” said State Rep. Erin Zwiener. “I’m so grateful to everyone for putting in the time to complete a project that pulls truck traffic from downtown and ensures our residents have a better chance of arriving where they need to be on time.” Progress on the extension project was documented from start to finish via a timelapse video. The contractor was J3 Company, LLC. For time lapse drone video click here: https://txdot.box. com/s/vcipv98pvvbz6uvoeulhe3s6su9non4q